The Los Angeles Police Department is dispatching officers from its mounted police unit to Griffith Park to curb property crime and increase the visibility of police, officials announced Friday.
The horse patrols also will help officers interact with the community, LAPD Detective Mike Ventura said.
“The mission of the police department, in partnership with our park rangers, is to make this a safe place to visit and play,” Ventura said.
There have been at least 20 vehicle break-ins at Griffith Park since December 2022, an LAPD website shows.
The mounted unit, which has been around since 1987, has 30 officers and 32 horses. Some have patroled in the park in the past occasionally.
The department would not say how long it will send mounted patrols into Griffith Park, or how many would be there at any one time.
The unit often responds to large protests and local events with heavy foot traffic.
The horses, which are donated to the LAPD, are stored at a barn in Griffith Park. They are funded through the Los Angeles Police Mounted Police Foundation.
The use of the mounted unit has come under some criticism, especially regarding its use during protests. Police horses are often used as a form of crowd control. Mounted officers carry a “bokken,” a long wooden stick that resembles a baton.
“These horses are our Swiss Army Knife,” Ventura said. “They are meant to be used for many different reasons. Generally, when we use them as a barrier — when people see these horses, they decide that’s not a fight they want to engage in.”
Officers who join the mounted unit must have at least five years of experience in the department, according to Ventura. Mounted unit trainees undergo a 200-hour program which includes lessons in riding, uses of force, and the general care of horses.
Officer Roberto Morales, an eight-year veteran of the mounted unit, was patrolling Griffith Park on Friday atop Stanley, a Quarter Horse, amid 12 other mounted police…
Read the full article here
